Full Coverage: BET Awards 2016

Tributes to Prince were a highlight of Sunday night’s BET Awards – with salutes by Maxwell, Jennifer Hudson, Janelle Monáe and longtime collaborator Sheila E. among the most riveting moments of the show.

When “Grey’s Anatomy” actor Jesse Williams took to the BET Awards stage Sunday to accept this year’s humanitarian award, he stunned the Microsoft Theater audience and those watching at home with a passionate speech about, among other pressing issues, the Black Lives Matter movement.

Prince hated tributes.

The list of things you’ll encounter when watching the BET Awards and no other awards show is a long one, and of course it begins with black people speaking without interference to one another on national television.

If Beyoncé’s “Formation” video was all about the proverbial water rising, then she turned the faucets on again for her introduction to the BET Awards on Sunday.

With sophisticated lighting cues, a 13-piece band and unannounced appearances by established stars (including two local heroes), Usher’s performance at the BET Experience wasn’t exactly a rejection of spectacle.

Prince would have turned 58 on June 7.

Now in its fourth year, the BET Experience hasn’t slowed its ambitions to be the preeminent celebration of black music.

The 2016 BET Experience is unveiling the first acts booked for free concerts during the four-day festival.

Monica, Bilal and Tye Tribbett are among the latest additions to the lineup of acts booked for free concerts for the 2016 BET Experience.

In 2013, Beyoncé put her superstar power to work in a sold-out arena show to help launch the inaugural BET Experience in downtown Los Angeles.

When Lil Wayne finally came onstage to close the BET Experience’s Saturday night showcase at Staples Center, he wore a bright pink sweatshirt and shorts emblazoned with a simple message: “Know Yourself.”